Looking to become a CDI specialist? Six tips to make the career transition

As some of you may know, ACDIS is working on a CDI staff training manual. The book (due to publish prior to the 2014 conference) will help program managers train their new staff on CDI basics.

But what should those individuals who are thinking about making the leap from either the nursing world or the coding world into CDI do to get themselves up to speed on CDI practices prior to even applying for a CDI position?

It is a good question—one put to us recently by someone in just that position. Her facility did not have a CDI program as of yet, but she felt as though it may soon create one and she wanted to be ready to apply for a position if one became available.

I first congratulated her on being so in tuned to her facility needs, on being an ACDIS member, and for asking the question. We chatted a bit and came up with a few possible tips for others out there who are hearing the rumblings on the wind about the importance of CDI in the new ICD-10 environment and are considering a career change.

It may seem obvious but experienced, credentialed clinical documentation improvement professionals are highly sought after, well compensated, individuals. According to ACDIS’ 2013 Salary Survey, 158 CDI specialist respondents hold the certified clinical documentation specialist certification and of those, 41% earned more than $80,000 annually. As more hospitals seek to implement or expand CDI programs, that type of expertise is expected to become even more valuable. Anecdotally, facilities seeking to bridge expected ICD-10 productivity shortfalls with temporary CDI help could be paying top dollar to consulting or staffing firms–and the firms themselves may struggle to hire as many experienced staff as possible to meet the demand.

The tip here would be to obtain your certification, maintain your ACDIS membership, and stay informed about the nuanced details as they relate to ICD-10. Those who do could be the super-stars of the coming year.

Don’t be discouraged if you do not have experience in the CDI world! According to a recent, AHIMA/TrustHCS study published this summer in Educational Perspectives in Health Informatics and Information Management, more than 80% of all healthcare providers are expected to have a CDI program in place by the end of 2014 with growth areas across all hospital sizes and specialties.

So if you think CDI might be right for you take some time and start doing your research. Here are a couple of ideas to get you started:

1. Start looking at CDI job descriptions to see if you have the right experience levels.
2. Sign up for CDI Strategies and subscribe to the ACDIS Blog. Both are free and open to the public so you can become familiar with the issues while you’re making up your mind whether you want to get more involved.
3. Join ACDIS and review the sample CDI specialist job descriptions and training materials available in the Forms & Tools Library. These are the tools that CDI programs around the country are using to help get their staff up to speed. Those who are familiar with the roles, responsibilities, expectations, and issues headed into an interview will be two-steps ahead of their competitors.
4. If you work in a facility with an existing CDI program, approach your colleagues and ask them what they like and don’t like about the job. Ask them how their interviews for the position went.
5. If you are not comfortable asking your own coworkers (or if you do not have a CDI program currently) reach out to a neighboring facility and ask if their manager/team would mind if you job shadowed them for a day to find out if the position is all that you expect it might be.
6. Join your ACDIS Local Chapter and be sure to network. Chapter members, like ACDIS national members, are generous with their time and advice and are typically willing to offer any tips they can to help expand the profession.

Well, these were the ideas that the two of us were able to knock around during our brief discussion at any rate. Please feel free to add any suggestions, thoughts, or recommendations you may have to help encourage others to join this great—and growing—profession!